Always
by Shyma Tavrott Lupin
Summary: He had heard that many master and padawan drifted apart once the padawan was knighted. He just never tought it would happen to them. They just seemed way too close for it. Companion piece to If Everyone Cared


**Hey guys my Microsoft Word is being stupid and the spell check isn't working so if there are any spelling errors then please just bear with me till i get it fixed. Thanks, and enjoy!**

Obi-Wan Kenobi was so nervous he was almost sweating-scratch that…he was sweating.

He looked around the dimly lit chamber quickly as all the members of the council ignited their lightsabers, angled towards the ground.

The sudden glowing of the sabers in the dark room made his head spin, for he had spent the last day and a half below the hall of knighthood, meditating. And hell was he exhausted.

He looked up at all the hooded masters around him, squinting through the brightness.

Suddenly the doors creaked open behind him, and he fought the urge to turn and look at who it was. And then fought harder to keep himself calm when he saw it was Xanatos.

The raven haired man had a very emotionless look on his face, and he didn't even other to look at Obi-Wan as he entered.

It hurt Obi-Wan. A lot.

Xanatos had been pretty out of it since Yoda mentioned that Obi-Wan would be knighted due to his conquering the sith lord on Naboo. He didn't even say anything when Obi-Wan left to the hall of knighthood to meditate.

Xanatos always had hid his pain and concern. And he still did.

The pain that came with the thought of loosing his immature young padawan. The fact that he couldn't even bear to look at Obi-Wan without tearing up.

And he figured the only way to hide it was to ignore the teen.

"Good to see that make it, you did" Master Yoda said slowly. Xanatos just bowed.

"Begin we will" Yoda said approaching Obi-Wan, who lowered himself onto one knee.

"We are all Jedi" Master Yoda began to recite.

_Obi-Wan let his head drop. And suddenly as he heard those words of Knighthood, his entire padawanship flashed before his eyes, starting from the first day he had moved in with Xanatos._

"The Force speaks through us"

_He remembered almost killing Xanatos when he was 4. _

"Through our actions,"

_He remembered crawling into bed with Xanatos whenever he had a nightmare till he was almost 10_

"The Force proclaims itself"

_He remembered Mustafar. He remembered Xanatos saving him on that bloody planet. And then slowly nursing him back to health and out of paranoia._

" And what is real."

_He remembered going on so many missions from ages 10 to 18 that he had lost count after age 12. _

"Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed."

_And what he remembered most of all was saving Xanatos's life. Going on what was supposed to be a simple negotiation mission, ending up on Tattoine with a ship full of captains, handmaidens, Anakin, and of course…Padme. Returning to Coroscant, trying to watch a holo-vid (which they still hadn't gotten the chance to watch…) catching a ride back to Naboo…almost turning to the dark side while fighting a sith…..….and then holding Xanatos's dying body in his arms. And then the feeling when he was woken up in the Nubian healer's ward by Xanatos. And the feeling when he wrapped Xanatos in a hug and then cried himself to sleep in the older man's arms._

"Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force," Yoda said stepping closer to Obi-Wan, his green lightsaber humming to life next to the young man's neck.

_And now he was going to loose it all. All the memories of being a Padawan. As well as the joys, the sorrows and the comforts. And most of all....his master._

" I dub thee…..Jedi…." Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut as Yoda's lightsaber came too close to his braid for comfort.

And before he knew it the saber had cut through the strands of hair…..and severed his braid.

"Knight of the Republic" Yoda said solemnly as he took the braid in his hands.

Obi-Wan remained deathly still. Tears leaking through his shut eyes.

He was a knight now, and still there was no notion from Xanatos. Nothing. Not a word. No apraoch, nothing. He had heard that many master and padawan drifted apart once the padawan was knighted.

He just never tought it would happen to them. They just seemed way too close for it.

"Take up your lightsaber, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight" Yoda said raising a hand up to the top of Obi-Wan's head.

Obi-Wan drew his saber and placed it solemnly in front of himself, both hands still gripping it.

"And may the Force be with you" Yoda concluded, lowering his hand.

And for the first time in the entire ceremony Obi-Wan looked up and gazed into Yoda's green eyes, that glowed with pride.

He slowly stood up, his saber in his right hand. He clipped it to his belt.

His eyes swiftly moved as far to the side as they could, in an attempt to look back to see what Xanatos was doing, but they failed misserably, for his master-……former master was far out of his line of vision.

Yoda, seeing this turned and gave they members of the council around them a look. A look that said they should leave.

They de-activated their sabers, bowed slightly to the new knight (who bowed back) and left the large dark room.

"Report to the council in a few minutes you will. Give you the card to your new quarters we will" Yoda said as he bagn to walk past Obi-Wan.

"M-my new quarters?" Obi-Wan stuttered, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Move into the knighting quarters you will. Now that knight you are" Yoda said as he stopped walking. He stared back at Obi-Wan with what looked like a saddened expression.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest but then closed it again.

"Want to move, you do not?" Yoda asked raising a brow.

"No master" Obi-Wan muttered looking down.

"Wish to stay with Master Omega, do you?"

Obi-Wan hesitated, as he sensed Xanatos was still standing behind him. He thought about what Yoda had asked him.

Xanatos must have been ignoring him for the past week for a reason. Maybe he didn't want him around anymore. In that case it would be wrong to continue living with him.

But his words betrayed him and he quickly said "Yes master"

"Hm..I see. Allow that I can" Yoda said continuing his walk out "May the Force be with you both" he said just before walking out.

Obi-Wan stood perfectly still as the doors closed behind him and his mind registered that he was alone. And part of him prayed that the person behind him wasn't Xanatos. Prayed that he wouldn't have to endure an awkward as hell confrontation at a time like this.

He also stood perfectly still as he heard the clicking of boots aproaching him, until a hand came down on his shoulder. He looked slightly to the side and looked at the gloved hand. Actually it was a fingerless glove. And then there was no denying that it was indeed Xanatos.

Because in the past week Obi-Wan had gotten used to seeing that one gloved hand. That hand, he had recently discovered was the hand that Xanatos had placed in front of his stomach before the sith lord had pierced that blood red saber through him. Causing the saber to go through his hand and his torso. Basically the glove was used to cover the scar that covered practically his entire palm.

Obi-Wan was pulled out of his thoughts as a shaking hoarse voice:

"You should get some rest…"

Obi-Wan smirked. A bittersweet smirk.

_How stupid of me to have expected a "kid" at the end of that sentence… I'm a knight now……I can't expect that stuff anymore….._

He berated himself. But then found the urge to share his thought with Xanatos. And with that smirk still on his face he muttered "So I guess I'm not your kid anymore?"

Xanatos felt a pang in his chest, and his hand flinched on Obi-Wan's shoulder. He felt a sudden surge in Obi-Wan's force signature and quickly put an arm around the knight's shoulders.

Obi-Wan leaned heavily on the older man. Meditating for just about two whole days was catching up to him.

"Thanks…" he mumbled, fighting to stay concious.

"You need rest. Come on, let's go home" Xanatos said as he carefully led Obi-Wan to the door.

Obi-Wan felt far too weak to protest.

"Oh and by the way…" Xanatos said as they aproached the door. He then said the words that once again gave him the satisfaction of closing off the rift that had formed between them under his fault:

"You will always be my kid……._ Always_."

_**~fin**_

**Well that was the last short and Wow am I happy I decided to study Wookiepedia all those years ago. Cause this chapter would have come out absolutely stupid if I didn't have research on the Jedi Knighting Ceremony. **

**Oh and i****n the sequel should Obi-Wan have an aprentice? **

**1)Yes**

**1b) If yes then who? Ferus Olin, someone else(tell me who), or an OC?**

**2)No, like having Alliya come between Xanatos and Obi-Wan's relationship wasn't bad enough, now Obi-Wan's gonna have a padawan?? No way, there's no need for someone else getting in the way of the two of them.**


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